WESTFIELD, NJ — A bear has been captured in Garwood Monday afternoon. It is believed to be the same bear seen in the area of Lawrence Avenue and Sinclair Place in Westfield Sunday night and near Brookside Place School Monday morning.

The Department of Fish & Wildlife tranquilized the bear around 1 p.m. in the backyard of a home on Walnut Street in Garwood where it had been sleeping under a deck, according to authorities.

According to Garwood Police, the bear is a male, most likely a yearling. He will be relocated to the wild, according to Garwood Police Chief James Wright.

Officials said they will test his tooth to try to determine his age. After tranquilizing him, they doused him with water to cool him down before transporting him in a bear trap.

“This is my second bear call,” Chief Wright said. “First one was about five years ago, but that bear was recovered in Cranford.”

“I’ve never expected a bear before,” neighbor Julia Melton, who lives on Myrtle Avenue in Garwood, said. “We have deer, foxes and a coyote, but never a bear. But with everything lately, this doesn’t surprise me.”

The bear’s sighting in Cranford Monday morning caused Brookside Place School to delay its opening to 9:45 a.m. Sunday night, Westfield residents in the area of Lawrence Avenue and Sinclair Place had been told by Police Chief David Wayman to remain indoors.

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